Some Fantasy football players are big spenders in free agency, while others rummage through their neighbors' recycle bins to find useful pieces. This series is for the latter. So let's take a look at which wideouts got dumped in Week 3.
Riley Cooper (Down 12 percent to 73-percent owned)
Does Cooper lead the league in almost-touchdowns? Feels like he has one of those a game
— Dave Richard (@daverichard) September 16, 2014
Before Monday Night's game against the Colts, I advised a friend not to start Cooper because it appeared that Jeremy Maclin was emerging as Nick Foles' go-to guy. The stats certainly showed that to be the case, with Maclin reeling in his second touchdown on 11 targets. But there were two downfield plays drawn up that had Foles attempting to connect with Cooper at the back-left pylon. All three were either broken up or mistimed, but in all fairness to Cooper he was facing a physical and formidable foe in cornerback Vontae Davis.
One of those plays got flagged for pass interference and would have been good for 35 yards a touchdown. Whether Cooper pushed off or Davis held on the play, the fact remains that he was targeted for big plays in one-on-one coverage. The emergence of Zach Ertz combined with the versatility of the Eagles' rushing attack has rendered Cooper's skill set obsolete, but it seems he's still as much a part of the gameplan as before. Yes, those were two of just three targets, but he's a nice middle ground between Ertz's size and Maclin's speed. One of these games, Cooper is going to actually haul in those end zone targets, like he did on Nov. 3 last year in Oakland, when he went off for three touchdowns and 139 receiving yards. He's a risk, but if you're going to gamble on a boom-or-bust WR, why not take a flier on piece of the Chip Kelly offense?
Mike Evans (Down eight percent to 75-percent owned)
When you consider all the success Josh McCown had last season tossing jump balls to Alshon Jeffery, Mike Evans seems like the perfect rookie pass catcher to do the same. But that hasn't been the case through two games. In Week 1 he was targeted 10 times in Week 1 and had a fourth quarter touchdown negated because one of his feet touched out of bounds before the catch. McCown only looked his way four times in Week 2, but on two of Tampa's touchdowns McCown (selfishly) tucked and ran it in himself.
I'm no psychic, but I think we can count on Evans learning being more aware of his feet and McCown not pretending to be Cam Newton going forward. If you're not satisfied with your WR depth, Evans has the upside to be a red zone threat once the Bucs pin down their offensive identity.
Jarrett Boykin (Down 12 percent to 43-percent owned)
I wouldn't doubt if that Jarrett Boykin drop in the red zone is the moment that leads to Davante Adams becoming #Packers permanent No. 3 WR.
— Paul Imig (@Paulimig) September 14, 2014
When Randall Cobb went down last year, Boykin became a viable PPR option for 12-team leagues. But his sleeper-ish status heading into this season hasn't come to fruition. In fact, last week Davante Adams caught five passes on seven targets, making him one of the most added WRs of Week 3. Aaron Rodgers only looked Boykin's way three times against the Jets, and completely ignored him Week 1 thanks to Richard Sherman.
So was Adams' snap count a result of coaches punishing Boykin for his drop, or was it a true recognition of Adams' superiority?
Based on last game, Adams is taking Boykin's job as Green Bay's No. 3 receiver, which would put Boykin's Fantasy relevance completely to bed. You've got to figure one of them will be a nice PPR sleeper in a pass-heavy offense that doesn't feature a standout tight end. Deep PPR leaguers would be wise to monitor this situation closely.